Foolish Falsehoods
We’ve Made History, But Some Try Hard To Distort It
Last year gave us a total of 27 states where permitless carry is legal,
which infuriates gun prohibitionists. Their arguments failed.
One thing about looking back on the past year — not everyone has tired of it just yet, although we’re nearly a month into 2024 — is that some perspective about 2023 will come in handy now that state legislatures are considering even more gun control laws.
Here are some things about which the ardent anti-gunners should be reminded — and rebuked —at every opportunity because they’ve got it coming, and they’re trying harder to erode your rights.
Item #1: Last year, the U.S. saw three more states (Georgia, Florida and Nebraska) join the states adopting so-called “constitutional carry” statutes. It was one of the biggest gun rights stories of the year. These laws evidently drive gun prohibitionists nuts. How else can anyone explain some of the demonstrably false and downright foolish arguments against permitless carry?
As this column was being written, a Fox News affiliate in Orlando, Florida published a story pointing to some myths launched against the Sunshine State’s new permitless law. Opponents insisted the law would authorize open carry. Uh, nope! The story correctly explained how open carry under most circumstances remains illegal, with exceptions for anyone “engaged in, or traveling to or from fishing, camping, hunting or test/target shooting.”
Another myth busted: “Anyone can get a gun without a background check.” This nonsense was deliberately circulated by people hoping to spread panic. According to the Fox report, “The new law does not change who can purchase a firearm or the waiting period to purchase firearms.” Buyers must still fill out all the paperwork, which is checked by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Honestly, since gun politics is my beat as a journalist, I’ve heard this argument just about any place a new pro-rights law is proposed. Distortion and deception must be on the first page of the gun control playbook.
Lastly, the Fox story pointed to the “You can carry a gun anywhere” claim. Fails the smell test every time, everywhere. Said Fox: “The new law does not change where you can carry a firearm. You may not carry a firearm anywhere that a private business or property owner has prohibited them or anywhere outlined in 790.06 of the Florida Statutes, including, but not limited to, schools, any college or university, bars, courthouses, and into government buildings.”
This argument rivals the assertion by gun prohibitionists that the NRA has a “guns everywhere” agenda because the organization has lobbied hard for expanded concealed carry.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms circulated this bumper sticker, which says plenty about gun rights.
Oh, There’s Lots More
Item #2: Among the all-time stupidest arguments against permitless carry is that it will enable bad guys to carry guns. Oh, please! Folks with functional gray matter, including every lawman I ever met, have already concluded that criminals have been packing guns illegally for decades, and these new “constitutional carry” laws don’t change that a bit. It’s still illegal for criminals to pack iron. Anti-gunners know this. They know we know they know it. But they still spout this nonsense. Go figure.
Right now, 27 states allow permitless carry. Vermont has always allowed it, not because of a law, but due to a court ruling. Here are the rest as of this writing: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
As noted recently by the BNN Breaking news service, “Evidence suggests that more Americans are now legally carrying concealed firearms.” John Lott at the Crime Prevention Research Center told me the same thing via telephone about a week before he released his 2023 update on concealed carry in November. However, the number of active carry licenses is down slightly, probably due to the permitless carry statutes. All states still issue permits/licenses to allow their citizens to take advantage of concealed carry reciprocity laws.
For example, in Indiana, the Indiana Capital Chronicle recently reported, “One year after Indiana removed the permit requirement to legally carry a handgun, applications for firearm licenses have dwindled — and so has the number of misdemeanors filed for unlawful carry.” The story also revealed Indiana crime rates are up, but “law enforcement officials are hesitant to blame the new constitutional carry law.”
However, the news agency also stated, “handgun-related misdemeanors filed in the state have dropped as well, according to the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC).
Anecdotal evidence from several states suggests gun ownership is rising among Jewish Americans ever since the October attack. It’s that good old Second Amendment.
Jewish Gun Ownership Up
In the aftermath of the Hamas invasion from the Gaza Strip into Israel last October, there was a reported dramatic increase in antisemitic “incidents,” according to WLRN News in South Florida.
According to a December report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “Between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7, ADL recorded a total of 2,031 antisemitic incidents, up from 465 incidents during the same period in 2022, representing a 337-percent increase year-over-year. This includes 40 incidents of physical assault, 337 incidents of vandalism, 749 incidents of verbal or written harassment and 905 rallies including antisemitic rhetoric, expressions of support for terrorism against the state of Israel and/or anti-Zionism. On average, over the last 61 days, Jews in America experienced nearly 34 antisemitic incidents per day.”
Something unexpected happened. Media reports said an increasing number of Jewish Americans began arming up. In Florida, the permitless carry law apparently helped the Jewish population pack pistols for their own protection without waiting for weeks. When you have a serious threat, it’s happening right now, not four weeks from now when a permit arrives in the mail.
I spoke with Sarasota gun dealer Joe Krawtschenko, owner of The Gun Shoppe, and he confirmed an uptick in firearm sales since the October attack in Israel. “The day it happened,” he recalled, “things started picking up.”
Likewise, anecdotal reports from Texas and elsewhere bear out what Krawtschenko said. Many in the Jewish community have bought firearms.
Is there a moral to this story? Uh-huh. When things look really bad, you will find lots of people falling back on that good old Second Amendment. Two things happen. First, they discover the gun control laws they previously supported also apply to them. For some it is a rude awakening.
Secondly, these new gun owners realize they’ve been spoon-fed a bunch of lies about the “ease” with which people can get guns. Maybe after this, they’ll listen when the Second Amendment advocates warn them about restrictive gun control laws.
The Mailbag
I just wanted to say how insightful Dave Workman’s article is on Gavin Newsom’s idea of a 28th [Amendment] (GUNS, December 2023). Dave does a great job of dissecting the blather these idiots propose and writes them in a way that keeps you reading all the way. It has to be an ugly job reporting such idiocy instead of writing lots of the fun stuff that gunners love. My hat is off to Dave for doing it and to FMG for publishing such great articles that keep us in the know.
Jack Kellum
Arizona
Dave replies: It’s not so much an ugly job as it is interesting, and occasionally amusing. Gavin Newsom represents the anti-gun extremism now rampant within the far left. We’ve got to take these people seriously. The days of self-delusional blustering, “It’ll never happen here” are long gone. Thanks for reading GUNS, and my online ‘Insider Online” weekly column.
